When the winter rolls around, it can be tough to stay in a good mindset. If you generally have good mental health but can feel yourself slipping, you might need to take some extra steps this winter to help protect your mental health.
Seek help
If there is one thing that people hate doing, it is getting help for their mental health. This happens for a variety of reasons that can include not wanting to waste a medical team’s time with something, or they believe they are just sad and can snap themselves out of it.
First of all, being sad is not the same as having a mental health issue, and you cannot snap yourself out of this. Second, medical staff at urgent care centers are there to help you. It is their job to help you if you are having issues. And, even if it does turn out that you are just sad, isn’t better to know this than struggling on with an actual mental health problem?
Self-care
One of the reasons that we find our mental health suffering is because we don’t take any time for ourselves. We are made to feel guilty for taking that hour to chill out or enjoy our own hobbies. Self-care is just as important for you as it is for you to help other people.
For people, it has been so long since they had the chance to look after themselves, they wonder how to do it. If this is your first time in a long time getting to take some time for yourself, just sit in the quiet and meditate to see if you can unwind and relax. Over time, you can develop your own self-care routine.
Say no
This can be one of the hardest words for us to say, but we all need to learn to say no more often. We need to say no to that extra work that our bosses want us to do. We need to say no to that party that we have been invited to and don’t want to go to. We can say no to any number of things that we feel are stretching us to our limits.
No is not about being mean, it is about putting boundaries in and ensuring that people respect those boundaries. Make some boundaries, set your limits with what you are happy with and say no to anything that does not serve you and your purpose.
As you can see, there are a few simple ways that you can look after your mental health during the winter. If you feel that you need some help, there are plenty of organisations that offer advice and help for anyone who might be struggling with their mental health.
If you believe that you could use some help, don’t be afraid to reach out. Many of these places are free to contact and you don’t have to hand over any details about who you are. We hope you look after yourself this winter.